Axle drive equipment for motor vehicles



June 30, 1925.

R. E. FELDER AXLE DRIVE EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES 4 Sheets-$heet l Filed July 21, 1921 June 30, 1925. 1,544,439

R. E. Fn-:LDER

AXLE DRIVE EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Julyv 2l, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet D lill! June 30, 1925.

R; E. FIELDER AXLE DRIVE EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July 2l, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTYJ.

M Mm TM ,y

R. E. FELER XLE DRIVE EQUIPMENT FCR June 30, 1925.

VECTOR VEHCLES Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 /N VEN-'TOR Filed July ,'21 1921 i zi-z of Figi.

Patented June 30, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,544,439 PATENT'- oFFicE.

REUBEN E. HELDER, or New YORK-N. Y.

AXLE DRIVE EQUIPMENT' ron Moron VEHICLES'.

,Application'fiieaauiy'ei, 192,1. serial transats?.

To all whom t may concern.'

Beit known that I, REUBEN E. FIELDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of NewVYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Axle Drive Equipments for Motor Vehicles, of which the following is arspecilication, reference being' had therein to the accompanying drawings. v

This invention relates to ,rearV axle drive equipments for motor vehicles such as auto buses, auto trucks, and the like, by which the vehicle body is supported at a low'level with reference tothe axis of the wheels. A certain type of rear axle equipment for this purpose comprises a transverse load supporting member on which the drive wheels are rotatably mounted on axes offset vertically above the member, and driven by gears carried by aligned driving 4axles rotatably sustained by the member i and geared to the wheels` the said driving axles receiving Atheir motion through differential gearing from the motor or engine, and the vehicle body being sustained by the load supporting member through thek medium of the usual springs. i

My invention has to do particularly with constructions of this type, and the invention consists of a transverse load 'supporting member of improved form and construction having in view great strength and durability and capability ofvsupporting the loads and the strains to the best advantage and without injuries bending or twisting or other displacements. The'improved features of construction constituting my invention will be 1 fully described in the specification to follow and the novel parts thereof will be pointed lout in the appended claims.V

In the accompanying drawings: Y Fig. l is a central vertical longitudinal section through a portion of a rear drive axle equipment, and Vthe driving wheel mounted thereon, with my invention embodied therein. Y. g

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through ythe same onthe line zr-c4 of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 3 is a front perspective view ofthe transverseload supporting member separated from the parts associated therewith.

Fig.4 is a front elevation ofthe same.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 6- is a transverse section on the line member.. t l ,p

1g.` 8 is an end elevation of thetransf verse load supporting member,y showing in Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional elevation on Referring to the. drawings: y i. Y i A. .Mly invention yis chiefly concernedwith-tlie shown more particularly in Figs.` 3,. 4t, 5 and 6, and in slightly modifiedform g. 7. lThis member comprises a main horizontal'body portion'l and two laterally ex- Y y Fig.A 7L is av fragmentary perspective view f ofa modifiedform of the loadfsupporting `detail the brake yband operating mechanism. f

transverse load supporting member. las

tending arms 2, one on each end thereof,.the

said body :portion and arms. being in the form of an integral. unitary structure, andA the arms extending'l upwardly vertically-pto afford supports for the drive Wheels, one

only of which is shown. The drive'wheels u' are rotatablyinounted respectively on horizontal spindles 4L which in the` preferred form V`of the invention. are seated tightly at their inner ends in horizontal holes or sockets formed in the upper ends of the arms,y and are firmly `andixedly secured therein by means, for'. instance, of a lock ,pin 5 as shown in Fig.1. Thelprojecting portions of the spindlesraije formed with an Linner cylindrical ,bearing surfaceftxandwith an outery cylindrical bearing surface yd" .of relatively smaller diameter thanthe sur-y face awvhich.y afford-bearing,supports respectively for the inner and outer ends A of the hubs, aswwillwbe more fully'j described hereinafter.

Y The body portion ofthe supporting Nmember is formed atvits centerfwith a flat annular hollow boss 6 the plane ofiwhich extends `at lan angle with-reference to the horizontal plane ofthe supporting member, the rea-r 'portion of said lbossibeing above the axis of the member and its front'portion being below said axis as bestsliown in Figs. 2 and 6, the annular boss thus extending yat a downward'and forward kinclination relative to the `body of thesupporting member. From the interior of the boss longitudinal passages oropenings Textend outwardly in opposite directions through the'body ofithe :supporting member and through the end arms to receive 'the Atwo aligneddriving axles 8andv within `the boss the differential geariiiglf) is mountedand geared, to `the axles. An upper cap :pl-ate` 10 isv applied 'i l vided with a forwardly extending neck 11 having bearings in which isy rotatablyV to the upper' edge, ofthe boss and is pro-` mounted a fore and aft extending stub shaft 12 geared at its rear end tothe differential gearing and provided at its forward end with means whereby it mayV be connected With the .propeller shaft, so that themotion of the motor will be transmitted to the `differential gearingl and byfthe` latter to the V'driving axles. A-lower cap plate 13 is app plied to the lower edge of the annularboss and is fastenedin place by bolts 14 *whichl extend 'through the two caps and inward of the inner .annular surfaceof thejbossV as lshown 'in Fig; 2, whereby the 'latter will be free from'bolt holes orrecesses which would tend to weaken the same.

` At itsouter end each driving axle is rotatably supported by means of' a ballbearing 15 seated in the outer end of the longitudinalV opening 7 inlthe'sustaining member and the axle carries a` driving gear 16 mesh- Y ingwithan internal rack'17A on the wheel hub, Vwhich latter is rotatably supported at its outer end by a roller bearing' 18 surroundingthe bearing surface'4b on the spinl ldley 4, v"and at its inner vend by a roller beary the load supporting member.

ing 19surrounding'the bearing surface 4a" 2 and extends within an'inwardly extending overhangingbrake drumv 21 on the drive wheela packingv22-being` inserted between the peripheral edg'eiof 'thedi'sc and the inner 'surface ofthe drum.' The plate 20,' is prevented `from turning on the wheel spindle lby `reason-of its engagement with a bossl 20 projecting outwardly vfrom the' outerside ofthe'end larmv 2 and surrounding the opening therethrough,lthe saidrplatel 2O having' a 'circularholev which receives and' fits over said boss. "The plate l2() is prevented from inward displacement onthespindle by the end arm against which it'abuts, and it is held fro'rnfoutward displacement by means of'za'ring V36 which surrounds the surface ring is'A in turn heldin .thesurface 4a and extending outwardly andV fittingaround the surface 4bof the spindle, Vand this spacer shell is in turn held against l4a on .the-spindle and constitutes'the inner race vring of the'roller bearing 19,- which i lace1on the spindle 'by meansfofa spacer s ell 37 surrounding the `end of the ring36-by` means kof a second 21".,*rng A38 which surrounds the surface 4b 0f the spindle and constitutes'the inner vcasing ringof the roller bearing 18. A` nut 39 is screwed on a vthreaded :neck'fiQextending outwardly from ythe spindley land l bearsV by the said ring, thepspacer shell,.and the ring 36 may all be forced inwardly endwise against the disc 20, and thereby hold the same from outward displacement.V

At the inner sides of the arms 2, the body portion of the load supportingl member is` formed at itsupperand 'lower sideswith flattened surfaces 23 and 24 respectively, the

surface 23 affording ay seat for the support-A lng spr1ng25, and the'surface 24 affording a' seat `for a clampl plate' 26,;thejspring being f fastened firmly to Ythev seat'23fby'means lof bolts 27 extending throu h the clamp plate '26 andat the opposite" si es of the'supporting member and; .through'av clamp plate 28 bearing on theuppernside of thespring..." In

Figs. 3 and4 I haveshown the" seating surlfaces 23 and 524 as being continued Joutwardly inthe form of flanges23a :and 24 havingopen recesses thereinto receive the bolts. In such a construction, the lower y clamping plate 26 isdesirable'to confine the clamping bolts passing through said-plate.

This plate however may be omitted by extending the anges -as shown by dotted lines Vin Fig.. 5 and forming bolt holes therein to confine the bolts. f

While I prefer to form the body portion ofthe load sustaining member together with its central annular hollow boss'andithe two l Y upwardly extending end arms, as a single integral unitary structure, and toform the wheel supporting spindles -4'as separate elements to be fastened in the lend armsl as` described', these supporting spindles may be -formed integral .with the end larmskas shown 1n Fig. .7'1n' which case thelentire structure `including the supporting spindles 'would constitute an integral .unitary element.V4 .1 l

Theformation of thetransverse load sup-l l, i

porting member with'its central hollow boss and its lateral end arms as an integral uni Atary structure, gives it` great strength and strain resisting properties,V and avoids' the employment of separate connected parts which would'beliable to becomeloose andi,-

subject to relative displacements under l*the severe condltions` encountered" Vin practical use. By disposing the hollowV central boss in a plane inclined downwardly "and for- M .wardly relative lto the body Portion of the vizo i supporting member, thesaid boss i'sfpresented edgewise to the resultant of the'gloadY force .Y acting downwardly on -thev`memvber and the 'forces acting onv the wheels `when the rotation of' the latter is resisted byf thefz application of the brakes or`by1skiddin'g.

The result 1s that the severe stresses due Ito saidresultant are resisted by ithe load sup-.- porting member under the `most V'favorable ,5 'K conditions toavoid'i-njur-ious strains thereon."

As shown more .particularly in` Figs-'- l, 2, Y

8 and 9, the brake band 30 which encircles the brake flange 2l, has one end anchored to a stud 31 on a bracket plate 32 bolted to the underside of the transverse load supporting member at the outer side of the clamping plate 25, and has its other end connected operatively with an operating lever 33 supported by said bracket plate. The bracket plate as shown in Fig. 9 has journalled in it a short horizontal shaft 34 which has attached to one end a crank 35 to which the movable end of the brake band is connected, and at. its opposite end the shaft has iXed to it the lever 33 for operating it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a transverse load supporting member provided with an end arm, a wheel spindle projecting outwardly from said arm, a drive wheel provided with a hub surrounding the projecting portion of the spindle and provided also with an inwardly extending brake drum, a closure disc surrounding the spindle and abutting against the outer side of the end arm and seated within the drum, a nut on the outer end of the spindle, and means surrounding the spindle and engaged at its outer end by the nut and abutting at its inner end against the closure disc, the said wheel hub being rotatably supported by said means.

2. Iny a motor vehicle, the combination of `a transverse load supporting member provided with an end arm, a wheel spindle pro- .jecting outwardly from said arm, a drive wheel provided with a hub surrounding the projecting portion of the spindle and provided also with an inwardly extending brake drum, a closure disc seated within the brake drum and surrounding the spindle and abuttingv against the outer side'of the end arm, an inner ring surrounding the inner portion of the spindle and abutting against the disc, an outer ring surrounding the outer portion of the spindle, a spacer shell sustained by the spindle between said rings, the said hub being rotatably supported by the rings, and a nut screwed on vthe outer end of the spindle and bearing against the outer end of the outer ring; whereby the outer ring, the spacing shell and the inner ring may be forced inwardly by the nut and thereby confine the closure disc in place.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature hereto.

REUBEN FIELDER. 

